Editorial: Law proposing N.J. red-light cameras give drivers more time a good compromise

Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-LedgerA view of a red-light camera on McCarter Highway near the corner of Edison Place in Newark.

For those still clinging to the fairy tale that red-light cameras are supposed to make New Jersey roads safer, there’s a new measure in Trenton that should make you happy.

The proposal would lengthen yellow lights at camera-covered intersections by a full second — giving drivers more time to stop. The bill also adds a half-second grace period once a light turns red, and lowers fines for rolling right turns from $85 to $20.

Each change cuts drivers a break — cheaper fines for most of the camera-written tickets and fewer tickets overall. If you’re a driver who cares about safety, what’s not to like?

But if you’re one of those who banks on the millions of dollars collected by the state’s red-light robocops every month — bureaucrats in the 25 municipalities that are part of New Jersey’s pilot program, for example, or one of the private companies that sells the cameras and takes a cut of the proceeds — it means finding new justification for keeping the cameras turned on.

Safety has been the tissue-thin cover story for this transparent money-grab since the red-light camera program began. Proponents say the cameras stop drivers from blowing through red lights, putting lives in danger.

Trouble is, there’s no conclusive proof they work.

What’s true is that, in other red-light camera states, most tickets are for the rolling right turn — not exactly a deadly highway threat. In California, 75 percent of all red-light camera tickets were for rolling rights.

In New Jersey, one pedestrian was injured by a driver making a rolling right turn in all of 2010 and ’11. No epidemic there.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth), one of the bill’s sponsors, says the extra 1 1/2 seconds could cut tickets by 70 percent per camera. Fines would shrink a similar amount.

“Only people focused on revenue, not safety, would say that’s a bad thing,” O’Scanlon said.

This proposal strikes a reasonable balance between legitimate traffic enforcement and Big Brother. It’s lenient on drivers who simply cut it too close and, by slashing fines for rolling rights, lets the punishment fit the crime.

By giving drivers another 1 1/2 seconds of leeway, it also means this: If a red-light camera sends you a ticket, you probably deserved it.